Stick to these ribs

A barbecue secret -- and a really easy pie -- for Father's Day.

June 21, 2009|Adam Reid

This Father's Day, show Dad some barbecue love with tender, meaty ribs deeply infused with spice and smoke and slathered with a sweet-tangy-hot barbecue sauce. Purists may call it cheating, but a little oven time streamlines the cooking and guarantees super-tender, moist meat, so I'm willing to take the heat. Round out Dad's menu with traditional barbecue sides like corn bread, baked beans, or coleslaw, and end up with an easy, almost-no-bake mango lime pie that makes a great dessert.

Lime-and-Chipotle-

barbecued

Baby Back Ribs Serves 4

2 cups wood chips for smoking

1/3cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper

2 racks baby back ribs (about 2½ pounds each)

for the sauce

½ medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon finely grated zest and ½ cup juice from 2 to 3 limes

2 tablespoons chopped chipotles en adobo, or to taste

1 14½-ounce can tomato sauce

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground allspice

Salt

An hour before cooking, soak the wood chips in water to cover. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, 1½ tablespoons salt, and 2 tablespoons pepper. Dust the ribs evenly with the spice mixture, and rub it in. (Ribs can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

Start a fire in a charcoal grill, leaving bottom vents open. When coals are covered with gray ash, push them to one side of grill. Place the soaked wood chips directly on the charcoal, set the grate in place, cover, and let the grill heat for 5 minutes. For a gas grill, put the soaked wood chips in a small aluminum tray and place it on the primary burner, directly over the flame. Turn all burners to high, close the lid, and heat for 15 minutes. Then turn off all the burners except for the primary and adjust the flame to maintain grill temperature at 250 to 300 degrees.

Place the ribs on the cool side of the grill, positioning them to minimize overlap, close the cover (for charcoal grill, make sure the cover vents are halfway open and positioned over the ribs), and barbecue until the ribs are deep red and the meat has shrunk away from the ends of the bones, about 1½ hours, flipping and rotating the ribs once midway through cooking.

To make the sauce: In a food processor, process the onion, garlic, lime zest, chipotles, and ½ cup water. Strain the mixture into a medium saucepan, discarding the solids. Add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, cumin, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and lime juice and whisk to combine. Place the pan over medium-high heat and, stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes (you should have about 2½ cups).